However, Norway’s prime minister has said it relies on the military bloc’s nuclear deterrent for security
Norway will not host nuclear weapons on its territory because it bases its security on NATO’s strategic deterrence, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr said. However, top defense officials in Sweden and Denmark have said their nations would be open to such a deployment.
At a press conference with the prime ministers of other Nordic states and Canada in Oslo on Sunday, Storr was asked about opening discussions on loosening rules on nuclear weapons.
“We are not changing the law. We don’t have to. We have our clear policy. There is no place for nuclear weapons in Norway.” He said.
He said Oslo was open to potential strategic cooperation talks with Paris, citing French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of other NATO nations.
However, no new initiative should be taken “weak” The bloc’s existing nuclear policy, Storr said.
Earlier this month, Macron gave a keynote speech on a new nuclear strategy in Paris, in which he said and outlined how the country would increase its arsenal. “Temporary Assignment” France’s strategic nuclear bombers among allied NATO nations.
A few days later, the Finnish government said it wanted legislative changes to host nuclear weapons on its territory.
Moscow condemned the move, warning it would lead to “Rising Tensions on the European Continent.”
If Finland threatens Russia by deploying nuclear weapons on its territory, Moscow will “Take appropriate action” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Helsinki has since repeatedly downplayed the decision, stressing that Finland does not want to host nuclear weapons and that NATO has no plans for such a deployment.
The moves come amid a revival of European discussions on strategic deterrence, following the fallout of the last nuclear arms control treaty binding Russia and the US, which have the world’s largest arsenals.
Moscow does not threaten European countries but aims its nuclear arsenal at any country with nuclear weapons trained on Russia.
